When Tyler Tucker was waived and sent to AHL affiliate Springfield during training camp, it was tough to see his path back to St. Louis.

The Blues kept eight defensemen on the roster, and none of them were Tucker. Even if one of the six defensemen in the lineup got hurt, there was a pair of scratches waiting to enter. Tucker knew all about that life last season, when he was a healthy scratch for 56 games, relegated to an afterthought for most of the season.

But Tucker has played well enough to rise through the Blues depth chart, and Thursday was his 11th straight game in the lineup. That’s the most consecutive NHL games Tucker has played in his career.

“Been in for a long stretch here, probably the longest of my career,” Tucker said. “Just trying to keep things simple day by day and keep getting better. ... I was playing with a lot of confidence down in the minors before I came up. I think just keeping that going, riding that and helping these guys win games.”

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In securing his spot on the third pair alongside Ryan Suter right now, Tucker passed Matthew Kessel on the depth chart, as Kessel now plays in the AHL. He passed Scott Perunovich, who was scratched Thursday for the ninth time in the past 11 games. His arrival coincided with the Blues trading Pierre-Olivier Joseph back to Pittsburgh and has happened while Nick Leddy still recovers from an injury that has robbed him of more than half a season.

On Tuesday night, Tucker had the primary assist on Radek Faksa’s game-winning goal against the Flames, as Faksa tipped a Tucker point shot in the third period. Tucker also scored his first goal of the season last week against Anaheim. His long stretch pass helped set up a Jake Neighbours goal in Minnesota. And he fought Blue Jackets tough guy Mathieu Olivier in Columbus.

“When he first got here, I thought he was a little nervous but wanted to make an impression giving us an identity and showing that he wants to be here,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “Anyone that’s going to go and fight Olivier in Columbus — if he’s not the toughest guy, he’s one of the three toughest guys in the league — that’s saying I want to be here, I want to be a Blue.”

Tucker’s reputation in the Blues system is as a hard-nosed, defensive defenseman who's a willing participant in scraps. He’s been that, but he’s also added auxiliary pieces like sidestepping forechecks, skating the puck through the neutral zone and being active in the offensive zone to retain possession.

“I just try to do what I do best, and hopefully those things come,” Tucker said. “I’ve obviously been rewarded a couple times here, but just trying to play the right way, do things the right way and good things will happen.”

Montgomery said: “I just see a guy that’s making a lot of plays. He’s breaking up plays, he’s physical. Offensively, he’s in good support position. That’s a real smart shot that he takes, right? He gets it and he knows right away what he’s doing with it, putting it at the net.”

Tucker missed six AHL games with an injury from Oct. 27 to Nov. 10 but returned as one of the Thunderbirds’ best players. He had nine points in 12 games and even received some power-play time, which hadn’t been the case for him during previous stops in Springfield, Massachusetts.

“What we heard down below was that he was playing really good 200-foot hockey,” Montgomery said. “That’s what we’re seeing now. He’s making really smart plays with his head up on breakouts, and neutral-zone counters, at the offensive blue line. The game-winning goal is a good example, but it’s not the only play he made there. We see him having a swagger to him physically: eliminating plays, killing plays, holding on to the O-zone by pinching pucks hard on the walls.”

Tucker’s stay in the NHL has two contractual effects.

One, Tucker must go through waivers again if the Blues want to send him back down to Springfield. Once a player plays 10 games or spends 30 days on an NHL roster since the last time he was waived, he is once again waivers eligible. Thursday was Tucker’s 12th game.

Two, once Tucker plays 17 more NHL games, it will guarantee that the Blues will retain his rights when his contract expires in the summer. If Tucker does not reach that figure, he will be a Group 6 free agent able to sign with any NHL team.

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